Image used under Flickr CCLi. Photo by Flickr user Si B.
Emily Sohn at DiscoveryNews has an article about why and how Olympians keep getting better and better.
For example, in the first week of the London 2012 Olympics, nine world records fell in the swimming pool, and new ones were set. What’s amazing about the new records is that many of the previous records were set by swimmers wearing now-banned extra-buoyant suits.
So how is it that Olympians keep getting better and better?
Sohn, writing at Discovery News, explains that the reasons are complex and mixed. It has to do with technological improvements and a growing number of people who are starting sports earlier, and staying with it longer.
However, this quote really stood out for me:
Through calculations of maximum power output, oxygen use, heart function and other factors, some researchers have attempted to predict what the absolute limits of human ability will be. Much-debated estimates include 1:58 for the marathon (a five-minute improvement over the current men’s record of 2:03.38), and 9.48 for the men’s 100m.
See the full article here.
